Mio: The Journey To Not Letting Fear Be In Control
by Windrises
Summary: Mio and her friends are scheduled, to have a concert at the beach. Mio's friends expect her to wear a hula girl outfit and be the lead singer. Mio is extremely shy and being put in this position scares her. Having unpleasant dreams doesn't help. Will she be able to get over her fears and embrace her pride?


Note: K-On! is an anime that was done by the studio Kyoto Animation and is based on a manga written by Kakifly. This story is dedicated to K-On! composer Bice.

Mio Akiyama was in the band practice room and was hard at work, at writing new songs. They had a concert planned, which would take place at a nearby guitar store. Out of the members of the band, Mio wrote the most amount of songs and was the only one who showed up early, at band class. In addition to that, she was the most shy member of the band. She was the least social of her friends and was the quickest to get scared or feel like hiding her emotions under her guitar. Despite that, she was close friends with her band members and she enjoyed hanging out with them. Mio's friends hoped they could get her to come out of her shell, but Mio wanted her metaphorical shell, to be zipped up and hidden from the rest of the world.

Although Mio was shy at a lot of things, she was quick and talented, when it came to writing song lyrics. When she was assigned to write a song, she could write it in a day. On her more creative days, she managed to write two songs. As time went on, Mio's friends realized how talented she was and since they were lazy, they decided to have Mio write all of the songs. It was a challenge, but Mio was up for it.

Over a half hour after Mio's friends were supposed to arrive, Yui Hirasawa, Ritsu Tainaka, Tsumugi Kotoboki, and Azusa Nakano went into the band practice room. Mio tried to be polite, but not only did her friends constantly show up late, they also goofed around and spend a good portion of practice time, drinking tea and chatting it up. She looked at them and saw that Tsumugi was already getting the teacups out. Mio said, "Hi guys." She corrected herself, by saying, "Hi girls. I hope you're not preparing a tea party."

Tsumugi nervously smiled and replied, "That was our plan."

Mio responded, "Come on, fellow band members. We don't have time for this. You're almost forty-five minutes late."

Ritsu said, "It's better to be late, than early."

Mio looked confused, while asking, "Why would you think that?"

Ritsu explained, "If we were early, you wouldn't have any time to anticipate our arrival. The longer we take to appear, the better the payoff will be."

Mio folded her arms and said, "I don't think that's how that works. We need to start practicing the new songs."

Azusa looked at her and asked, "Have you finished the songs?" Mio nodded. Azusa said, "Wowsers, you're fast."

Yui replied, "You've probably been working too hard, Mio. You should forget about that song stuff, for now, and have a tea party."

Mio responded, "Procrastinating on work for tea parties, isn't my cup of tea. Yui, did you get the bleach for the store's stage, that I asked you to buy?"

Yui had an embarrassed look on her face, while saying, "Oh my, I believe I misheard you."

Mio nervously raised an eyebrow and said, "The first time I asked you that, what did you think I asked?"

Yui said, "I thought you were asking me to schedule a beach concert, so I cancelled our store concert and scheduled a beach performance." Mio facepalmed.

Ritsu thought about the situation. A moment later, she patted Yui on the back, and said, "Good job."

Mio had a confused look on her face, while asking, "Good job? Yui cancelled one of our concerts."

Ritsu replied, "Yeah, but she scheduled us a better concert. That store didn't have that many customers. The beach will have a lot more people."

Mio responded, "I guess that's true."

Yui said, "So, I accidentally helped the band?"

Tsumugi replied, "It sounds like you did."

Mio responded, "Don't count your chickens, before they hatch."

Yui said, "Mio, even though I look like one, I'm not a farmer. Because of that, I don't have any chickens."

Mio sighed and replied, "I was making an expression."

Ritsu smirked and responded, "Your face doesn't make that many expressions, aside from fear and exhaustion."

Mio angrily blushed and replied, "That might be true, but we're getting off topic."

Azusa sighed and responded, "That's a regular event, for this silly band of ours. No offense, but Yui, Ritsu, and Mugi, but you're a little lazy."

Ritsu sternly said, "Don't say we are lazy."

Mio replied, "Anyways, we need to focus on the upcoming concert." She looked back at Yui and asked, "What time is it scheduled for?"

Yui responded, "The day after tomorrow, at five p.m."

Mio could hardly believe that Yui had scheduled it for that time. After all, the band hadn't practiced a single of the concert's songs. She said, "We barely have anytime, for getting ready and if we don't start getting ready, we won't be able to preform."

Ritsu tried to calm Mio down by saying, "We have plenty of time."

Mio nervously replied, "We only have two days."

Ritsu sighed and responded, "We will have to delay our little tea party, but other than that, we'll have time for everything. We'll practice the songs now, tomorrow, and most of the day afterwards."

Tsumugi replied, "Great idea, Ritsu. It's not a lot of time, but I think it'll be enough."

Azusa had plenty of doubts, about being able to get ready for the concert, considering how little time they had left. She related to and respected Mio, so she asked her, "What do you think?"

Mio thought about it and said, "It's not a lot of time, but I think if we practice hard enough, we'll able to do it."

Ritsu smiled at her and replied, "That's the spirit."

Mio responded, "Let's start practicing." She handed song lyrics, to each of her friends. Mio had already prepared her music equipment and had memorized her own lyrics, so she stood around, ready to go. Her friends started reading her lyrics, while getting their instruments ready.

Tsumugi said, "Sweet lyrics, very romantic."

Ritsu said, "Nicely written."

Azusa said, "Mio's the best, when it comes to these lyrics. She's the best at a lot of things." Mio smiled at her, while fleeing appreciative of Azusa's constant support.

Yui smiled and said, "These lyrics aren't total garbage." Mio raised an eyebrow.

Azusa nudged Yui and asked, "Do you think that's a compliment?"

Yui answered, "Ritsu told me that when I want to compliment something, I should say that."

Azusa said, "It doesn't seem like a sparkling compliment."

Ritsu replied, "Hey, people get sensitive and upset, when their stuff is compared to garbage. By saying that Mio's lyrics aren't garbage, Yui's giving Mio quite the compliment."

Azusa folded her arms and said, "It seems more like a joking insult, than a compliment."

Tsumugi casually replied, "Nah, I think it has sweet intentions."

Mio's friends continued to jabber on, which wasted time. Mio often hid in the background and didn't speak up, when her friends did this. However, this time, Mio stood up and said, "We're wasting time. Let's just focus on preparing for the concert."

Yui nervously laughed and replied, "We were wasting time again, weren't we?"

Ritsu sighed and responded, "Once again, Mio is right. Let's get to work."

Mio's friends stopped goofing around and started following Mio's advice. They studied her lyrics and tried memorize them, as quickly as possible. After several minutes of reading the lyrics, they started practicing their singing. There were several points, where Mio's friends eyed their teacups and considered having a tea break, but Mio urged and encouraged them, to stay focused. Thanks to Mio's determination and gentle, but stern advice, the band had a long and strong practicing session.

After the practicing session was over, everybody felt a little tired. Even Mio felt like taking a break. She looked at her friends and said, "Great job. You knocked it out of the park."

Azusa replied, "You deserve a majority of the credit, Mio. You've motivated us and have been incredibly supportive."

Tsumugi started getting the tea ready, while asking, "Is everybody ready for a break?"

Ritsu said, "I think so. Wouldn't you agree, Mio?"

Mio nodded and replied, "I think that's enough practicing, for now. However, we'll also have to do plenty of practice, tomorrow and the day after that."

Mio and her friends sat down and started sipping on tea, eating snacks, and having a friendly chat. Mio looked at Ritsu and asked, "Since the concert is going to be at the beach, is there a specific outfit we'll be wearing?"

Ritsu answered, "Hula girl outfits."

Mio shyly asked, "Can't we wear something more professional?"

Ritsu answered, "Mio, it's a beach, not a business meeting. The crowd members will be wearing swimsuits, so why does it matter?"

Mio said, "Well, concerts are a dignified, mature event." Her friends thought that was a debatable topic.

Mio tried to get her mind off the outfit choice, by asking another question. She looked back at Ritsu and asked, "Who will the lead singer be?" Ritsu pointed to her. Mio nervously asked, "Me?" She shook her head and said, "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want to be the face of the band. I want to be hidden in the shadows."

Tsumugi replied, "But you're too cute, to be hidden."

Azusa looked at Mio and said, "I usually respect your desire to hide from the spotlight, but you wrote the songs and are the one who memorized them. It would make the most sense and be the most helpful, if you were the lead singer."

Mio thought about the situation. She always wanted to do what's best for the band, so she nervously said, "I guess I'll be the lead singer."

Ritsu replied, "We believe in you."

Mio shyly responded, "That's good." Mio's friends tried to encourage her and make her feel better, but deep inside, she was extremely nervous. The thought of being the lead singer of an entire concert, while in a hula girl costume, was scary and embarrassing. Mio's friends thought she had what it takes, but Mio was lacking in self-confidence.

A few hours later, Mio was at home. She got into bed, while wearing a pink t-shirt and purple pajama-pants. She still had thoughts and fears, about the upcoming concert, while closing her eyes and going to sleep. Mio started having a dream about the concert and it wasn't a very good one. In fact, it could count as a nightmare.

During the dream, Mio's friends were running late, as usual. Mio was thankful that her friends eventually showed up, but they missed most of the practice time. She looked at a clock and said, "It's almost concert. We need to get on our costumes and get to the stage." Mio and their friends got changed into their hula girl costumes: brown bikinis and a green hula-skirt.

Mio was already feeling uncomfortable, while getting onstage. She looked around and saw that her friends were having a more fun time, than she was. They were smiling and playing around. Mio rolled her eyes, while feeling upset that her friends would goof around, during this important event. She said, "Girls, we need to focus. We can't goof around and get off-track."

Mio's friends ignored her, other than Azusa. They kept playing around. It was innocent fun at first. However, Yui accidentally tripped and fell on one of the drums. Yui didn't get hurt, but the drum had a huge hole in it. Mio had a mildly frustrated look on her face, while saying, "Yui, you broke one of the drums."

Yui nervously chuckled and replied, "I'm sorry about that."

Mio looked around and saw Ritsu and Tsumugi throwing various pieces of musical equipment, into a big pile. Mio asked, "What are you doing?"

Tsumugi answered, "Organizing the instruments we don't need."

Mio sighed and replied, "I'm having lots of second doubts."

Ritsu patted Mio on the back and responded, "Everything's going to be great."

Five minutes later, it was time for the concert to start. Mio reluctantly took centerstage. There was a huge crowd of people, who seemed ready for things to start. Mio nervously started singing. At first, her singing sounded awkward and wasn't very easy to hear, because of how shy and unconfident Mio as. As time went on, she got into the rhythm of things, thanks to her own lyrics of inspiration and the support of her friends. She was singing clearly and eloquently and the crowd seemed to be liking it.

After the concert was over, Mio breathed a sigh of relief, while feeling glad that she got through the concert. The crowd started cheering and Mio's friends started bowing and waving to them. However, Mio wanted to get out offstage and back into her normal clothes, so she whispered, "I'm out of here."

Ritsu overheard her, so she replied, "I don't think so." Ritsu tried to pull Mio back.

Mio pulled hard enough to getaway, but she heard a tearing sound and she slipped and crash landed into the pile of instruments. The crowd was surprised. Everybody was wondering what happened to Mio, but the pile on instruments was so big, that nobody could see her. Mio looked at herself and was horrified to learn what the tearing sound was. When Ritsu tried to pull Mio, she accidentally got Mio's hula girl outfit ripped to shreds. Mio had never dealt with a more embarrassing concert mishap. Nobody had seen her current predicament, yet, but she whispered to herself, "How am I supposed to get out of here, without the crowd seeing me?" She looked at the music equipment, that she was under, and figured she could use them to cover herself up.

Mio grabbed the broken drum. She put it around her body and wore it, like a dress. After it was securely on her body, she stood up and started running offstage. The crowd was shocked to see Mio wearing a drum. They thought it was a joke, so they started laughing. Even Mio's friends started laughing. After getting offstage, Mio put her hands over her face, while feeling ashamed of herself.

Mio's eyes opened up and she realized it was a dream. She had several sighs of relief. Her nightmare made her more scared, about what could happen at the real concert. She nervously asked herself, "What's going to happen?"

The next morning, Mio met up with her friends, for band practice. However, she wasn't exactly in the mood for practicing. She came into the band practice room, nervously sweating and look exhausted. Mio's friends looked at her and were deeply concerned about her. She nervously said, "Hi, fellow band members. I didn't get much sleep last night, but don't worry. I'm determined and dedicated, to this band and to doing what you need me to do. Let's get out our musical equipment and started singing the lyrics."

Mio's friends admired her passion, but they could tell that something was wrong. Azusa walked up to Mio, put her arm around her, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Mio explained, "I had a rough night, but let's not focus on that. After all, we don't have time to focus on that. We need to get ready for tomorrow's concert. We don't have time for getting distracted or goofing around."

Yui had a disappointed look on her face, while saying, "I love goofy stuff, but okay."

Azusa looked at her fellow band members and said, "Mio really seems worried and tired. We should give her a break, before starting practice."

Mio shook her head and replied, "No, we need to be focused on getting ready for the concert."

Ritsu was usually one to tease Mio, but she could tell that her friend needed serious help. She said, "Mio, we can't ignore you when you need help. Sit down and tell us what's going on. I refuse to start band practice, until you tell us what's going on."

Mio sighed and replied, "Very well then." Mio and the others sat down. Mio tapped her feet, while trying to get the courage to explain her dream. She was embarrassed by what happened and wasn't in the mood to share the details. However, she knew she needed assistance and her friends were eager to provide her with that, so she tried to explain what happened. She said, "I've been worried about being the lead singer and wearing a hula girl outfit. I had a nightmare, during last night's attempt at a rest, which didn't help."

Tsumugi poured a cup of tea and got out a muffin, for Mio. Mio started chewing the muffin and sipping the tea. She said, "Thank you."

Tsumugi replied, "You're welcome. When you're ready to share the details of your dream, go ahead."

Mio nervously responded, "Very well then. In my dream, we were at the beach and were getting ready for the concert. However, you girls were playing around and were making a big mess. Plus, Yui broke one of the drums."

Yui nervously giggled and replied, "I hate to admit it, but that does sound like something I'd accidentally do."

Mio said, "When it came time to sing, I was a nervous wreck. Things got a little better, as time went on, but I didn't have a graceful ending. Ritsu accidentally tore up my hula costume."

Ritsu tried not to laugh, while saying, "That sounds like something I'd cause."

Mio said, "Because of that, my only choice of attire was the drum that Yui broke. I wore it, like a dress, as I exited the stage. I thought me tripping during a school concert was bad enough, but that was a small feeling of embarrassment, compared to what I dealt with in last night's dream."

Yui asked, "So, you wore the drum I broke?" Mio nodded. Yui smiled and said, "That means I was your hero. I saved you from having a humiliating exit."

Mio replied, "It was better than nothing, but it was still a humiliating exit."

Ritsu asked, "You wore a drum? That does sound rough."

Azusa looked at Mio and saw how scared she was. She tried to help and support her friend, by rubbing Mio's back, and saying, "You shouldn't be worrying about that, Mio. That's an extremely silly and unrealistic situation. That won't happen."

Mio tried to take a deep breath, while saying, "I hope that's true."

Ritsu replied, "Mio, you should take a nap, before you start band practice."

Mio was opposed to that suggestion, because of how little practice time was left. She nervously said, "I can't do that. If I did such a thing, we wouldn't have time to prepare for the concert."

Ritsu replied, "Mio, if you spend the whole day being a nervous wreck, you're not going to be able to properly practice. If you take a nap and get the relaxation you need, you'll be able to practice better."

Mio thought about what Ritsu said and thought she was making decent points and had good advice. She was still reluctant, because of the lack of time. She said, "Okay then. I'll take a short nap."

Ritsu said, "Since we're not as properly prepared for the concert as you and we still don't know the lyrics, we'll try to catchup, while you nap."

Mio replied, "Sounds good." There was a couch in the band practice room, so Mio laid on it and used her jacket as a blanket. Azusa took off her jacket and put it on Mio, so that she could have a second blanket. Mio smiled at her, before closing her eyes. Mio's mind was still focusing on her fear of the concert, so she started having another bad dream.

During this dream, Mio and the others got onstage, in their hula outfits. Yui handed Mio her guitar and said, "Play my guitar."

Mio had a look of confusion on her face, while saying, "Yui, I'm the lead singer, not the guitar player. The guitar stuff is your job."

Yui scratched her head, while saying, "I don't feel like doing that guitar stuff. I'm going to take a break and go play."

Mio nervously replied, "But it's almost concert time."

Yui smiled and responded, "Then I'm going to skip the concert." She started skipping off the stage.

Mio asked, "I'm supposed to be the lead-singer and the guitar-player?"

Ritsu casually answered, "More or less."

Mio could hardly believe how many responsibilities she had. She was the songwriter, lead singer, and guitar player. She truly was the MVP of the concert and she started feeling more like a solo act, than a part of a band. A lot of singers would enjoy that feeling, because it gave them a feeling of self-importance. However, Mio was having a different kind of reaction. She felt like she had too many problems on her shoulders and she didn't know how to shake the fears off her shoulders.

A few minutes later, the concert started. Mio started singing and playing the guitar. Mio wasn't as experienced at playing the guitar, as she was at singing. Plus Yui's guitar had several loose strings and broken buttons, so it was hardly a good idea, for her to play the guitar. After several minutes of struggling, she managed to make the guitar sounding decent. Before then, the crowd was having mixed feelings on the concert. However, after Mio started improving her guitar skills, the crowd was having a better job. Mio started feeling relieved.

After the performance was over, Mio sighed and was hoping to get away from the crowd. However, Ritsu tried to pull her back. Mio sighed and agreed to stay, not noticing a tearing sound. Ritsu, Tsumugi, and Azusa started looking at Mio, with surprised looks on their faces. Mio looked down and realized what had happened. Ritsu had accidentally ripped up Mio's hula outfit, when she was pulling her back to the stage. Mio was thankful for Yui's guitar, which was the closest thing she had to an outfit, in that moment. She nervously said, "Exit, stage-left." She tried to quickly get off the stage. During her attempted run off the stage, she tripped over a bunch of loose instruments. She tripped off the stage and landed near the crowd. She heard hundreds of gasps and laughs. She quickly ran away from the crowd, while feeling like the most embarrassed person in the world.

Azusa saw that Mio was passionately sweating, during her sleep, so she started tapping her head. Mio got up and was thankful to be awake and dressed. She said, "I had an even more embarrassing dream, than my previous one."

Azusa hugged her friend, while saying, "Don't worry, Mio. Those are nightmares, fictional dreams of badness. They never have happened and they never will."

Mio tried to take some deep breath, while replying, "You're probably right about that. I'm not proud of how I've been acting. I've been a classic version of a scaredy-cat, haven't I?"

Ritsu responded, "No offense, but that seems like a pretty accurate description."

Mio tried to calm herself and her friends, by saying, "Don't worry. After we finish up band practice. I'm going to relax and get a good and lengthy rest. I've been letting my fear take control of me and I regret that. I need to be braver, bolder, and have self-confidence and those are all things, that I'm planning on working on."

Mio's friends were more than eager to cheer Mio on. They put their arms around her and tried to encourage her. Ritsu looked at Mio and said, "We've always believed in you, especially me."

Azusa said, "This concert is one of your biggest musical challenges. You'll to be the lead singer and sing in a location, that we've never had a concert on. Believe me, I know that stuff's scary and I have some fears about that. However, it's time for us to step and be brave and bold."

Mio shook her head in agreement, while saying, "You're right. I can't let fear stop me from being a helpful and responsible member of the team."

Tsumugi replied, "I know this isn't the most sparkling thing to say, but if you don't feel up to the challenge and feel like you can't be the lead singer, perhaps one of us can be your understudy."

Mio responded, "I appreciate that, I really do. However, I need to step-up and do this." Mio's friends were glad that she was going to go through with it. She and the others did another session of band practice.

After the second session of band-practice was over, Mio decided to go for a walk. Walks often helped sort herself and her emotions out and this walk was no exception. In order to continue her recent rise of confidence, she did some exercise and afterwards, calmly lounged around her living room.

A few hours later, she went to sleep. During her rest, she had occasional bursts of fear. However, when those moments came, she reminded herself of her friends' comforting words. Although they did things she didn't approve of, like being late and goofing around, they believed in her and supported her. She was thankful for her four band members. They were her best friends and all held a special place in her heart.

The next day, it was the day of the beach-concert. Mio and the friends went into Ritsu's car and drove to the beach. After spending a few hours, doing another session of band practice, it was time for Mio and the others to get changed and get onstage. Mio felt a certain sense of reluctance, while changing into her hula costume. However, she shook off those feelings of fear and got onstage. She looked around and kept a close eye on her friends. In her bad dreams, they had been goofing off. However, when it came time for the actual concert, they were actually getting ready. They sipped a few sips of tea and did a few corny jokes, but they were putting effort and a strong amount of work, into the concert and Mio was thankful about that.

It finally came time, for Mio to start singing. Before starting the first song, she looked back at her four friends, all of whom had supportive smiles on their faces. Mio smiled back and thanks to her friendship with them, she finally had the confidence to sing. She and the others started the concert. Mio's voice sounded a little flaky at first, but she quickly got over that and started singing beautifully. Her friends were doing a good job, but she was the clear star of the show. The crowd was loving the songs and Mio.

After the concert had ended, Mio looked at the crowd. She saw and heard several rounds of applause. She bowed to the ground. She felt honored and thankful, for what had happened. She hugged her friends, with happy tears coming down her eyes. She said, "Thank you. Without you, I would always hide under a rock. Thank you for throwing the rock of hidden fears away and letting me be myself."

Azusa replied, "You're incredibly welcome, Mio. We couldn't be more proud of you."

Ritsu looked at Mio and asked, "Did our friendship really inspire you?"

Mio smiled and said, "Yes, without your support, I would of failed. I love you, my friends."

Ritsu replied, "We love you too."

Yui stuck her leg out, which accidentally led to Mio slipping. Before anything bad could happen, her friends picked her up. She smiled and realized that whenever her courage was slipping, her friends would catch her. Her shy heart had become a proud heart, thanks to the love of friendship.


End file.
